PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Beauty (noun) – A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. A combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense. – Webster’s Dictionary
..... to Photoshopped Perfection
In the Early Renaissance Art era, paintings like those of artists Botticelli, Titian, Raphael, and more showed curvy women with ample breasts, round stomachs, full hips, pale skin and cellulite. Yet, by today’s “standards” the renaissance body is considered unattractive and dare I say “ugly” - women are to be thin, toned, and tanned to be considered “beautiful” in 2018.
So why the change? When did the renaissance body become the unattractive body?
When and why did a shift happen?
The following slides show the change of Body Beautiful throughout the decades.
Once artists, graphic designers,
and advertisers realized that
beauty sells,
reality took a back seat, and is no longer important.
Would Renoir have been as successful if his paintings depicted women like Gisele, Kate Moss, & Kylie Jenner?
Would Vogue sell millions of magazines if one of Botticelli’s women graced the cover?
Of course not. Why?
Because each era has shaped the thinking of what beauty is or what beauty should be.
An American Society of Plastic Surgeons report found Americans spent more than $16 billion on cosmetic plastic surgeries and minimally invasive procedures.
Selfie Apps are one of the most frequently downloaded apps today.
It would seem that our digital world is ruining the beauty of the past?
With more and more people experiencing the world through a digital lens, and less and less exposure to experiences, the real world could easily fade away (to an extent) and be replaced by the gloss of a fabricated reality?
As a whole, we need to stop “liking” the unattainable, and start embracing all forms of the human body.
Let’s venture out and see the beauty in the body that fought cancer, the body that brought forth life, the body that survived abuse, the body that survived war, and all the bodies that don’t mirror the false narrative we’re being fed.
It is the responsibility of the new generation of artists to promote that reality is okay, no, it’s better than okay, it’s great, and more importantly they themselves need to once again appreciate the art we are surrounded with and realize that we are fortunate to live amongst so much beauty.
